Origin of Ants

I think the story is one that is very creative but obviously not realistic because it's folklore. The main character, all of a sudden, had a great sense of smell he discovered after his wife sends him away, like how? It is quite interesting I think, the way it's set out. Like the sharp and the Dyer are like helpers but they don't want him to betray the emperor guy, so they're not actually evil after all. All of a sudden, he flies to space and comes back as ants. I didn't really know why but I thought it was cool.